Spurred by this title, you are probably thinking, cookie baking, present wrapping, stocking stuffing, candle lighting, dreidel spinning, and shoveling snow (if you live in those parts.) But I am talking about enrolling in pre-school for fall 2011.Yes, really.
Our pre-school enrolls returning families in January. I remember a couple years ago trying to secure a spot for my then-three-year-old son we were on the wait list February 1st! This year, we are trying to decide whether that same little-but-much-more-grown-up-boy should go to kindergarten, or should take another year in pre-school. And then if I am to homeschool or if he should attend somewhere else.
Is sending your first born off to SCHOOL so nerve-wracking for every parent? All of my little-kid insecurities about the first day of school come flooding back. It kind of makes me queasy. Will I make friends? Will I be able to find my way? Will my teacher be nice? Will I earn good grades? Of course we all want the very-very best for our children. And of course we all want to keep them from unnecessary embarrassment, disappointment, and peril. And, but of course, we all want our children to get the very best education possible in this lifetime.
So, I am being me. Researching. Phone-calling. Reading. Internet-searching. Talking to other parents. Talking to his teacher. Talking to his pediatrician. And keeping busy in the process. (Admittedly, sometimes I get a bit too caught up in the process and forget that there was a goal somewhere there.)
In the end I just keep telling myself that whatever decision we make isn’t set in stone. We can change schools. We can choose to homeschool if that is more appropriate. We can keep his new teacher informed of our thoughts about his education. And we can augment his classroom time with other activities that encourage creative and physical energies. And I know that we will shower him with love, no matter how well he does, and no matter how much he struggles. We will make informed decisions as a family and let our love and support for each other shine through. Isn’t that what families are supposed to do?
